The temperatures are rising and the dependable Calasparra sun already has us reaching for our sunscreens and wide brimmed hats. It’s time to enjoy the great outdoors, bare our pale winter skins and throw off our woollies. Good riddance to winter, let’s exchange cleaning and lighting fires for cleaning the pool ready for months and months of glorious sunshine. I feel a barbecue coming on….
A spring barbecue may seem like a luxury but, using locally available ingredients, it doesn´t have to cost a fortune. A little meat goes a long way if you cut it up, mix it with vegetables and cook it on skewers and the wonderful Mediterranean vegetables are versatile and delicious cooked over coals. Try marinating the meat overnight and start with a couple of easy to make dips and you will have a barbecue fit for a king for a few euros.
Pork (lomo/cerdo) is the cheapest meat at the moment although turkey and chicken (pavo/pollo) go a long way with a little imagination and so can be economical too. Mince meat for homemade burgers (carne picada) is usually made with pork or turkey here in Calasparra. Some butchers stock beef (ternera) and will mince it for you. However, it is likely to be steak or fillet and will be very expensive. Try mixing meats in homemade beef burgers or meatballs for a more economical option.
Some foods undergo a magical transformation on the barbecue. For example sweet corn (sprinkle with salt and a trickle of olive oil or butter and wrapped in foil) and even the humble potato (thickly sliced and prepared as the sweet corn but with black pepper), popped into the embers for five to ten minutes bear no relation to their boiled or roasted versions. When the barbecue is really hot try placing a red pepper on the metal grill turning it over regularly until the skin blisters. Peel it while hot and sprinkle with salt and finely chopped garlic. Trickle over olive oil and eat at room temperature dipping crusty bread in the oil. It makes a delicious side dish or starter for less than a euro.
Here are some simple recipes for spicing up cheap Mediterranean vegetables, pork, and turkey. They are economic alternatives to buying up half the butchers shop and then giving half of the meat left over to the dog. A perfect spring barbecue that doesn´t break the bank and doesn´t defraud the taste buds! Enjoy!!
Wow your guests with a couple of simple dips served with fresh raw vegetables cut into thin strips for dipping: carrots, celery, green and red peppers, cucumber, onion slices etc.and reserve the rest as a “salsa” to eat with your barbecue.
MINTED ADVOCADO DIP
You will need:
2 ripe advocados – aguacates maduros
2 tblspns lemon juice – jugo de limón
2 tblspns natural yogurt – yogur al natural
1 clove garlic crushed – ajo
I tblspn chopped fresh mint – menta fresca
Salt and pepper to taste – sal/pimienta
(If you find it difficult to get good, mature avocados, our regular advertiser Lozano stocks excellent ones these days).
Method
Halve and stone the avocados, spoon out the flesh and mash in a bowl until smooth and soft. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Turn onto a serving dish. Sprinkle with fresh mint sprigs.
GARLIC MAYONNAISE (ALIOLI)
You will need:
1 egg – huevo
1 glove of garlic – ajo
100 ml good olive oil – aceite
Pinch of salt – sal
Method
For a quick alioli put all the ingredients in a liquidizer and mix into a smooth paste. However, the traditional method of preparing this tasty dip is with a pestle and mortar. Firstly press and mix garlic and salt into a paste, mix with egg yolk and gradually mix in olive oil until you have a smooth paste for dipping.
If you are preparing your own alioli eat within 24 hours. Day fresh eggs are available in Calasparra but if you are in doubt use ready prepared mayonnaise and mix with garlic and salt paste.
MUSTARD DIP
You will need:
4 cloves garlic – ajo
2 egg yolks – huevos
2 tbspns lemon juice – jugo de limón
300ml olive oil – aceite
2 tspn whole grain mustard – mostaza
Salt – sal
Pepper –pimienta
Method
Place the garlic, egg yolks and lemon juice in a food processor (or hand mix) and mix until smooth. If using a processor keep the motor running and add the oil gradually until it forms a thick cream. Add the mustard and season. If preparing by hand continue mixing while adding the olive very slowly to reach the creamy point required. Season to taste.
This dip is particularly good with potato slices cooked in the embers of the barbecue or bonfire.
